My First Fiberglass install

[einstein57]

For as long as i can remember i've been hooked on cars and music. When i was 15 i installed a 4 channel amp fed by my discman powering two 6x9's and two 12" kenwood subwoofer on my bed. Yup, that's right. My bed had a stereo system. The first mod i do to all my cars is an upgraded stereo system. I've done everything from VW rabbits to toyota prius' but have never tried fiberglass enclosures. I made at least a dozen custom boxes and amp racks so i thought i'd step up my game with the e60. My intent is to create something simple that does not take up trunk space and and will not empty my wallet. My plans are to use one 12" low wattage (under 500w) woofer powered by a kicker zx200.2 200watt rms bridged amp that i got as an open box buy for $20. I have the L7 so i'm going to leave the factory speakers alone for the time being. My budget is $200 which is about 5% of what i normally spend.

The First thing I did was remove the factory drivers side trunk carpet panel and covered it in painters tape.

I then removed the factory dvd changer rack to see it the amp would fit. Of course it was a half inch to bing so i incorporated a design change for the amp.

I cut out a 13" circle out of cardboard and affixed it to the panel with cardboard support brackets.

I reshaped the lower stepped portion of the panel with cardboard allowing room for the amp and continuing the factory lines.

I then stretched some jersey knit cotton over the cardboard speaker cutout to and taped it to the panel.

I applied a layer of polyester resin and will let if cure overnight.

Tomorrow will do some filler work and spray a layer of PVA mold release ( i'm going to make a master mold so i can reproduce it if anyone is interested in the final product) and start the rear of the enclosure if time permits as i'm also doing my brakes, and creating a true CAI for my e30. Here are pics before i glassed it. Notice the bottom stepped portion levels off instead of sloping down. This is to provide additional clearance room for the amplifier.






Here is what i hope to accomplish as the finished product.

[aintnothang]

subscribed! Will look cleannnnn when done.

[einstein57]

Was not able to do much today. My other side projects took more time then expected. I went to my paint supply store but they don't carry PVA. I'll have to order some online. So i decided to work on the skeletal structure. Very simple but effective. I'm going to use some OEM speed nuts and secure the base o the frame with some L brackets. The base fits great behind the panel. Not much more to do with until i can start making the molds.



Oversized amp




Test fitting base



Base snug behind the panel

[einstein57]

So got sick of looking at an empty spot in the trunk and was starting to get bored so after coming up short on the PVA I decided i'd try and use silicon spray as a mold release. Since i was not planning on keeping this as a master mold i made it as quickly and cheaply as possible. Notice the old torn up t-shirt in place of fiberglass. Unfortunately the silicon did not work to well and i'll probably end up sanding out stuck pieces of tape and the speaker support shape.

[StereoInstaller1]

First try, huh...not too shabby.

I fucking HATE fiberglass work.

I am highly allergic to it, so I swell up, sneeze, itchy, just miserable.

BTW...use baby powder on your arms before you start sanding. Use enough to clog the pores...makes life MUCH better.

What did you plan on for cooling of that 200.2?

[chuck90m3]

I hate FG work as well here are a few pics of the box M4TT and I built for my wife's X3

[chuck90m3]

finished box. Ignore the homeowners protection package

[aintnothang]

I like your guns.

[einstein57]

Sweet box. I've never had a problem with amps overheating. Even when had 15" subs. I don't really push my systems that hard. I say at most i push my speakers to 70% of their potential. I get bass headaches pretty easily. Any recommendations on a nice woofer. I've been considering some shallow mount woofers but have not heard any. The last woofer i purchased or installed that was under 500watts was the MTX4000 that I bought 5 years ago.

[einstein57]

So after making several trips to paint supply stores, an ebay + google search lead me to the west coast distributor for one of the nations largest composites supply companies. And the best part is is i get the stuff for the same price as retailer. No business license, no membership cost, no minimum orders. :D So i got my PVA and some honey wax for about half of what i was expecting to pay. Unfortunately they only sell fiberglass in 100 yard rolls but they referred me to one of their retail customers. I picked up 3 different styles of glass along with some sweet tools of the trade. My Dremell came up missing so I bought a Ryobi cordless speed saw and an angle grinder. So 3 days and $200 later i can finally move forward. I started with sanding and grinding the mold and filling in major imperfections with Evercoat glaze. I then applied 2 layers of honeywax and 2 thick layers of PVA. I started applying the resin doing a third of the mold at a time since the contours made it hard for the fiberglass cloth to hold its shape. I ran out of sunlight so i'll finish glassing it tomorrow and pull it from the mold.

[george graves]

I've been reading up a bit on mold making - subscribed.

[einstein57]

I've been reading up a bit on mold making - subscribed.

Did you check out the instructables website? I'm going to take a fiberglass course this spring at my local community college. They even offer certification for aerospace.

[Mless5]

Word of advice: get a can of 3M 77 and glue cloth/mat before throwing resin on it. Makes thing really easy.

[einstein57]

I actually have a few cans of the stuff from prior boxes. I'll give it a go on the backside.

[jflip2002]

Word of advice: get a can of 3M 77 and glue cloth/mat before throwing resin on it. Makes thing really easy.

Thats fucking genius, lol. Whenever Id try to FG anything, Id get ticked that the fibers kept moving, or the cloth wouldnt stay in place. I never thought about that. What an idiot, I coulda saved some headache.

That box looks bad ass chuck, nice job.